Return of the Outlaw
by White-Tigers-of-Darkness
Summary: Robin should always remember, no matter how bad things go, his brother would always be there to save him. A pity no one ever told Slade that. Short story set after my story, 'The New Outlaw' and during the TT episode, 'Apprentice'


Since everyone was so supportive, I was inspired to write more in what I am now calling my 'Outlaw verse'. A big thank you to CHiKa-RoXy for giving me the idea for this story (and acting as my first ever Beta) I know you asked for it several times and I am glad I was able to finally deliver. This is my own take on the end of the surprisingly popular Apprentice Arch, featuring the Red Hood.

To all new readers, welcome. A brief summary is as follwed. In my AU reality, Jason Todd, aka, the Red Hood is the oldest son of Batman and a big brother to Robin. He and Robin join forces and get into some bad situations involving the League of Shadows before the Justice League and the Young Justice arrive to help out. And that is about it.

This is going to be one of several one-shots which will link 'The New Outlaw' with its currently unnamed sequel (Which is still a Work in Progress)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, Young Justice or the Outlaws. They are other peoples toys. I just play with them when no one is watching.

* * *

The probes burned through Robin's body, tearing into the teen's muscles and flesh. Whimpering in pain, the boy forced his body forward, towards the man who had caused all this pain, all this suffering.

"New deal Slade." The teen stuttered through clenched teeth. "If I lose my friends, you lose your apprentice. And I know how you hate to lose."

With a final groan, Robin found himself on the floor at Slade's feet, shaking arms barley holding him off the floor as the villain above him considered the new angle the Boy Wonder was playing.

There was a moment of silence before the villain laughed, a deep, dangerous laugh.

"Oh Robin. If my probes can keep your meta friends weak, then you, my boy, are not going to be a problem. In fact, you might learn something from this experience."

It was a bluff. Robin knew it had to be a bluff. Slade was that sort of villain. The pain didn't suddenly increase, the teenage hero refused to believe that. But what Robin knew in his mind didn't seem to matter. His body was burning with pain.

Slade laughing down at the boy at his feet as Robin's arms gave out, sending him crashing to the hard floor. The mercenary raised his arm, reaching down to the defeated hero, intending to drag the boy to his feet by his hair.

His wrist guard exploded, the attached controller shattering in a flash of electrical wire. Slade stared down at his arm. There was a soft click by his ear.

"Back away from him.…now." A voice said from the shadows.

Slowly, Slade stepped back as Robin gasped, the boy shaking off the effects of the damaged controller, the probes now null and void in his system.

Turning his body, Slade looked into the gloom. The barrel of the gun was resting against his shoulder, ready to send a bullet into his skull faster than he could blink his one remaining eye. Slade followed the gun back to its owner.

There wasn't much to see. The figure was dressed in a brown leather jacket over a grey and red jumpsuit. What stood out was the helmet the figure wore, a red metal case with white lenses where the eyes should be.

Under his own mask, Slade raised an eyebrow.

"And what do you care of what I do to my property?" He asked.

The figure tenses, arm shaking slightly. Reaching back with a single thumb, the figure cocked the weapon. The metal slid back with a loud click.

"Don't you ever call my little brother your property again." The figure growled.

"Little brother?" Slade asked, looking down at Robin. He looked back at the figure. "Ahhh…You must be the Red Hood."

"Yes I am….Deathstroke." The Red Hood replied. Slade smiled. The young vigilante was clearly similar to his brother. Both were so easy to anger. Slade could almost feel the anger radiating off the younger man.

"It seems that, like you, my reputation precedes me. Such a pity. I had hoped for more from a son of the Batman then a silly little toy." The villain pointedly indicated to the gun resting in Red Hoods grip.

The young man growled, his trigger finger tightening.

Slade moved fast, grabbing the young hero's wrist and forcing it skywards as the gun went off, bullet flying into the gloom. The mercenary's other hand lashed out, fist catching the young vigilante in the chest. Red Hood stumbled backwards, blocking a second punch before diving out of the way. The vigilante kept his distance, refusing to step up when Slade gestured to him to attack.

"Well, it's nice to see the Detective taught one of his boys how to lose. But then again, he had to." The villain grinned.

A hollow sound came from under the Red Hood's helmet. The hero was laughing.

"Oh, I'm not losing. I'm keeping you occupied until he can get behind you."

Slade turned, determine to see what the younger man was looking at. The strong punch caught Slade in the side of the head, knocking the villain backwards and onto his back. Moving to stand at Red Hood's side, Robin looked over at Slade.

"Titans, GO!" The teen shouted. The teens appeared, responding to their leaders call. The green shape shifter racing forward in tiger form, sharp claws catching Slade on the chest before the villain could move out of reach. Ducking backwards, Slade dodged a series of blue and green lasers before the demon spawn managed to wrap her magic around his legs, catching him off balance.

Breaking free, the villain turned in time to see the Red Hood grab Robin's arm. The older hero spun around, using his strength to throw the teenager towards him feet first. Robin's boot caught Slade on the side of the head, the villains mask giving a loud crack as a piece broke away.

Stumbling into the shadows, the villain clutched at his exposed face as the boy stared at him in shock.

Ducking towards the exit, Slade skidded to a haul beside the fake detonator. Twisting one of the dials, he turned to the group of heroes, ignoring the loud beeps as the machine overloaded.

"Another day Robin." He called, his eyes flicking to the young hero as his older brother moved closer, protective of the bird. "Another day."

The lights cut out as the building started to collapse around the team.

Pushing his brother forward, the Red Hood managed to break Robin from his thoughts, pulling him away from Slade's escape route.

"Come on!" He shouted. Like a snake, Robin slipped from his brother's grip, ducking forward to push open a door. The teen turned.

"Let's go home." He called over his shoulder, all the authority of the leader in his voice.

A few hectic minutes later, the Red Hood found himself on a roof top somewhere in the middle of Jump City. Robin was surrounded by his team, accepting slaps on the back and hugs from the other heroes, relief evident on his face. For a moment, Jason Todd wondered what had happened to his little brother while in Deathstrokes control.

The young detective finally pulled himself away from his friends, turning to his older brother.

"Well…." The kid said.

Jason shifted, crossing his arms over his chest as Robin approached. Finally, his little brother seemed to gather his thoughts.

"Not that I'm not glad, but what are you doing here?"

Reaching up, Jason flicked the catch on his mask, pulling the helmet off his head and shaking out his dark hair, white fringe bouncing against his forehead. He grinned down at his little brother, the younger hero still a head shorter than him.

"What? I'm not allowed to visit my little brother?" He teased, tucking his helmet under his arm. One hand reached up to adjust the red mask still covering his eyes.

Robin's shoulders dropped, the boy relaxing as much as he could in the metal armour Slade had called a uniform.

"Thanks for the save." He muttered, soft enough that his team wouldn't be able to hear him. "I'm not sure what I would have done if you hadn't been there."

Jason smiled.

A small scream reached the ears of both brothers, the two turning as a flash of orange and purple flashed past, hitting Jason and almost knocking him off his feet.

Robin fought back a laugh as Starfire tightened her grip on Jason, her arms wrapped around his middle. Jason also smiled, returning the hug.

"Hey Kori." He said. "It's good to see you again but I kind of need to breathe soon."

Starfire reluctantly let go, throwing herself into the air in her joy.

"Oh it is glorious to see you again!" She called. Immediately, she had grabbed Jason's arm, talking excitedly to her old friend.

Behind her, the rest of Robin's team had stepped forward, intent on investigating the newcomer.

"Ummm, not that I'm ungrateful to the guy that helped us against Slade, but…who is that?" Beastboy asked.

Robin looked over at his team's youngest member. Apart from Starfire, Beastboy was the only other member of the team Robin had known before creating the Titans, meeting the boy during a trip to Bialya with the Young Justice. Crossing his arms across his chest, Robin smiled again.

"That's the Red Hood. My older brother." He replied.

There was another pause.

"…Since when did you have an older brother?" Beastboy finally asked. Beside him, Cyborg reached over and smacked him on the head.

"Quiet!" The dark teen hissed. "If that's true, the guy is probably a bat."

"I can hear you." Jason called, finally escaping from Starfires excited rant. The older male walked over to stand with the group, slinging an arm around Robin's neck. Without warning, he pulled the younger hero into a head lock. "And yes, I am a bat. Right little bro?"

Reaching forward with his free hand, he ruffled Robin's gel stiff hair before releasing him when the teen lashed out. Absentmindedly, the older male wiped his hand on his pants, cleaning it of the goo.

"Dude! You have got to tell us what Robin was like when he was younger!" Cyborg crowed. Beside him, Raven rolled her eyes.

Robin could almost feel the evil grin which he knew was spreading across his brother's face.

"Not now." The leader replied, trying to reshape his hair. "Slade's probes are still inside all of us. We need to get back to the tower and deal with them before anything else."

"Awwww!" Beastboy replied.

Robin just glared.

* * *

Several hours later, Jason found himself standing in the middle of the living room of a tower shaped suspiciously like a giant 'T'. Fighting back the urge to comment on that particular situation, the older bat watched as the young team before him worked.

Robin had run off the moment they had entered the building, stripping the armour from his body as he went. The other two males on the team had immediately turned to face Jason and begun firing off questions to the vigilante faster than Kid Flash on a sugar high.

Jason had found himself reaching for his gun before he stopped himself, forcing his hand away. Fortunately, none of the teens seemed to notice (except for the silent gothic girl, who had raised a single eyebrow in question at him), all of them caught up in questioning Jason on everything he knew about their leader, or in Kori's case, reminiscing about their adventures as the Outlaws.

Jason looked around, looking for something shiny to distract the trio when a voice cut through the chatter.

"Cyborg. I want a word with you."

Jason turned and fought back the laugh. Standing before the group was an overgrown traffic light which Jason recognised as his little brother.

The black of the classic black and red Robin suit had been replaced with green, the cape drastically shortened. The teen had also fixed up his hair, adding more gel then Jason thought was humanly possible to give the 'fork stuck in an electrical socket' look which the kid seemed to favour.

The new look was both more serious and more hilarious then the old one.

Seemingly ignorant of his brothers grin, Robin pulled the giant half metal man into a quiet conversation, the two ignoring everything around them as Cyborg nodded, accepting his leader's orders. The metal teen turned, passing Jason to grab his green partner in crime before dragging the other boy out of the room.

"Hang tight, guys!" He called over his shoulder. "In a few hours' time, we should be probe free."

Jason looked over his little brother. Although it was difficult to tell, it seemed that the teen was staring at the goth girl. The girl seemed to understand and with a sigh, turned to Kori.

"Star, come with me. I have something to show you." The girl called.

Kori's face lit up, the girl flying towards her friend and dragging her to her feet. Jason only narrowly avoided injury, jumping out of the way as the alien dragged her friend out of the room, shouting all the way to 'friend Raven'.

Jason turned back to the door as Robin turned, cap flying out as the hero exited the room. Shaking his head, Jason followed his brother as the teenager made his way through the tower and to the stairs, climbing up the metal structure and out onto the roof. The bird was perched on the edge, feet hanging over the sheer drop.

Jason walked over, pulling his red mask off his face as he settled next to his brother. As a courtesy, Robin also removed his mask. Once again, Jason looked down, not at Robin, but at a 16 year old Dick Grayson, not a hero, but his kid brother. The kids face was pale, dark shadows under his eyes.

"Ok. Talk." Jason said.

Dick grinned slightly, the emotion not reaching his blue eyes.

"You first." Dick replied.

Jason sighed.

"How about you ask a question and I ask a question?" He said. "You can start."

Dick sighed.

"What do you know about Slade?" He asked.

Jason winced. He had hoped that Dick would ease into this game but it seemed that the kid was becoming more and more like Bruce every day. Always cutting straight to the chase.

"Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke. He's a mercenary. I don't know much but he's on the JLs list of threats. Something to do with an assassination attempt on Bruce Wayne."

Dick looked over at his brother.

"Really? He went after Bruce?"

Jason gave a small laugh, shaking his head.

"No more Dickie-bird. It's my turn to ask a question."

Dick held up his hands in surrender. Jason thought for a few minutes.

"What happened to that Young Justice thing? I thought you were happy there."

Dick sighed, looking down at the ground below.

"I was. But then Kaldur disappeared and Bruce and I started fighting. And KF and Artemis retired and there were all these new members who still treated me like I didn't know what to do because I am younger, even though I was the team leader. It all just got too much. So I decided to make a fresh start here. Beastboy followed me and then we met Raven and Cyborg. And Star showed up and we just sort of fell into a team."

There was a pause as Jason digested this new piece of information and Dick caught his breath.

"Wow." Jason finally said. "Roy never mentioned any of this."

Dick shrugged. He had heard of the few team ups between Roy and Jason. They were worryingly dangerous and frequently made the news. And of course, heroes talked.

"Well, Roy has had a lot on his mind in recent years, trying to find the original Speedy." The teenager replied.

Jason shook his head.

"Arrowheads DNA Donor is dead. He has to accept that or he will go crazy."

Dick glared at him, blue eyes flashing with anger.

"That's not nice Jay." He snapped. "Roy is a good friend. We never would have been able to stop Savage without him."

Jason held his hands up, hoping the action would calm Dick down. After a few minutes, Dick did relax, turning to look out across the water. The two sat in silence for a long moment, both contemplating their lives.

"You know, Bruce wouldn't have saved me from Slade today." Dick muttered, hooking his feet on the ledge so he could wrap his arms around his knees and lean his chin in his crossed arms.

"I think you are giving him too little credit there kid. He did come after us in Taipei." Jason replied. "But if it makes you feel better, I'm not Bruce."

Dick opened his mouth, ready to reply when his comm buzzed. Both brothers froze before Dick jumped into action, pulling a bright yellow communicator from his belt.

"Robin! We think we have got something here to stop the probes." The voice came; loud enough that even Jason could hear it. Dick nodded to himself before pressing a button.

"Understood Cyborg. I'll be down in a minute."

Shoving the device back into his belt, Dick rose to his feet. Pulling his mask out of his pocket, he paused.

"Thanks for listening to me Jay." He said, sending his brother a small smile.

"You're welcome Dickie-bird." Jason replied as Dick pressed the mask to his face before turning and leaving the rooftop.

* * *

The screens were bright, casting light through the room, each screen placed in a certain pattern to create an arch. Slade stood before them.

"You failed us Deathstroke." A voice said. "The boy was supposed to die. Instead, you tried to turn him into your pet."

Slade nodded, accepting the voices criticism.

"That is true." He replied.

"We hired you to kill the hero and his little friends. We were informed that you were the best, that you would see the job done."

Slade looked up at the screen.

"I am the best." He growled, voice low.

"Then clearly the best isn't good enough." Another voice said. "The boy continues to be a problem."

"But not for much longer." Slade said.

There was silence as the figures on the screen realised that Slade had spoken.

"No. The boy must die." One of the voices declared.

"You are all fools." Slade hissed. "Wanting to destroy the boy because you couldn't turn him yourselves. Destroying something which could so easily be used to your own advantage."

"We did not hire you for your opinions Deathstroke. You were hired to kill the hero and you failed. We have no choice but you terminate your contract. Go after the boy if you want. Try to turn him into your apprentice. But heed our words. The boy is a liability and we will see him destroyed."

Slade stepped closer, reaching for the control panel linking the screens.

"Or maybe he will destroy you." Slade replied.

* * *

Once again, to everyone who supported my Outlaw verse, thank you.


End file.
